Josh Jenkins leads the way in a strong man challenge at Adelaide Crows training. Put him in the goal square as Taylor Walker's offsider this season, writes Chris McDermott. Source: Sunday Mail (SA)
MENTALLY tough or emotionally fragile?
That is the great unknown for the Crows heading into the 2013 season after a summer of unprecedented turmoil at West Lakes.
Get distracted ever so slightly and take your focus off the job at hand and a premiership campaign can get derailed very quickly.
Coach Brenton Sanderson will know well before the opening round whether he has a hard-edged contender at his disposal or a talented group of young men still several years from maturing.
The Crows' premiership window is open, but success - as Sydney has clearly shown - is not just about talent.
With Kurt Tippett gone, chief executive Steven Trigg banned for the next six months and strategist Dean Bailey's future uncertain, it would be easy for the players to take their eye off the ball and become consumed by off-field dilemmas.
The playing group must control matters on field and quite simply ignore the issues off the ground.
Dwelling on Tippett, Trigg or the future of Bailey will not win them a hard ball or score them a single goal but it could cost them a game through a lapse in concentration.
And in a season where the number of finals contenders has never been so great, any missed opportunity will prove costly.
Sanderson has several challenges with this team in the lead-up to its season opener against Essendon at AAMI Stadium on Friday March 22.
Balancing his forward line in the absence of Tippett is also a must while getting significant improvement out of his two contenders for the role, Shaun McKernan and Josh Jenkins, will be a priority.
Both have genuine claims on the position but both must also improve weaknesses in their game if they are to enjoy some personal success and the Crows are to match it with the competition's best.
After four years but just 17 games, it is almost now-or-never time for McKernan.
Dwelling on Tippett, Trigg or the future of Bailey will not win them a hard ball or score them a single goal
Excuses may be valid due to limited opportunities but those days are over and it is time to impose his intimidating physique on this game.
The 22-year-old must become a 30-plus-goal forward/ruckman by season's end or consider applying his craft at another establishment.
Although slightly older, Jenkins' time frame to fulfill expectations is not as short, but for his team's sake he must morph from cameo performer to a legitimate player.
Glimpses of a serious talent are evident but, like the man he could replace in Tippett, his time in the game hasn't been that long and some of the basic understandings are still a work in progress.
Reducing the thinking for Jenkins and allowing his unique athleticism and uncanny skills to determine his value looks the best solution, so a home in the goal square where the message is simple and the role uncomplicated looks the ideal recipe for the 199cm brute.
Taylor Walker needs a sidekick and an unpredictable 105kg monster like Jenkins could be the answer.
Veterans Ben Rutten and Graham Johncock present concerns of a different kind for Sanderson.
The ageing duo are keys to a stable Crows defence and will be looking for big years individually to be guaranteed contract extensions beyond 2013.
Fitness and flexibility are Rutten's issues, but that is the price he must pay for a physique that has made him the great player he is.
Johncock must re-earn the faith of the selection panel by presenting himself for the year ahead in career-best shape.
Fit and healthy, both are definite starters in the Crows' back six - but anything less could put careers in jeopardy.
Finding a collection of "impact players" to rotate through the substitute role is also a necessity.
It has been an area of weakness for the Crows since its inception and finding a few game changers to fill that position can only make them stronger.
Ricky Henderson jumps off the page as their best-equipped sub but his talents may be required in a full-time role.
Brodie Martin is another who has genuine X-factor in his game while Tom Lynch has claims but may not be explosive enough.
It all begins for the Crows in just 35 days with their first pre-season
hit-out against the Power and St Kilda. Winning will be no indication of the year ahead, but the way they go about their business will be.
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